Author's note : Hello you all ! I hope you're all feelin' good. It's so hot there... That's why I take long to translate. Writing original version is already hard, but it's even harder when it's too hot. Ah, 10 chapters posted already... hold on, I'll translate the 11th chapter.
Enjoy this one.
"Let's ride into the sunset together
Stirrup to stirrup, side by side
When the day is through, I'll be here with you
Into the sunset we will ride"
- Don Burnham and Patty Kistner
Miho suddenly opened her eyes. She was saved. Nobody had attacked them, despite the terrible nightmare that she had in the last part of the night, although the first part was pleasant. She envied Kinuyo, who hadn't raised an eyelash in her sleep and had remained in the same position. Miho had dreamed of these bad guys... She didn't see their faces, but their voices were enough to scare her. In her nightmare, they chased them and found them wherever they tried to flee. It was so scary that she was still trembling a bit.
The redhead gently stroked her partner's hair. She had barely woken up. She looked at her, still a little sleepy. Miho leaned over and kissed her softly. Kinuyo smiled, loving these quiet mornings.
"Did you sleep well, Miho?" she said, still a bit numb.
"I had a nightmare because of the raiders yesterday, but otherwise I've been fine", the short-haired answered.
"Oh... I see. I haven't dreamed for a while."
Kinuyo rose. She startled slightly and put a hand on her lower back, grimacing in pain.
"Ow... I think I strained a muscle last evening... Well, I won't lie, I didn't notice it right away... I think it was the weight of the bag when we ran and stopped here."
"Are you sure you're okay?" Miho worried.
"Yes... don't worry, dear. My back is just a bit sore, but I can still carry the bag."
Dogmeat got up too and barked as if to say hello. Miho fed him with a can of dog food. He enjoyed his meal again, as if he could do it all his life. He always had a joyful expression when he licked his lips after eating and watched his two owners, his tongue sticking out, with his sparkly black eyes. Kinuyo petted his head.
After a quick breakfast, they resumed their journey. How long had it been since they were on the path to Kumamoto? Two weeks? They hadn't thought of counting the days. What mattered to them was to arrive in one piece there and find little Alice. Knowing how many days they had spent walking across the country didn't really interest them, even if it would be a great story to tell.
Miho sometimes imagined herself decades later, as an elderly woman, telling her grandchildren about her adventures with Kinuyo, then with Alice and Maho in a world where three atomic bombs had been dropped. That made her smile. She could tell all of her stories, from the most improbable and funny moments to the most delicate or emotional. It would be a wonderful experience. Maho also could be there, and Alice would probably be a very nice old lady. There would be Granny Miho, Granny Kinuyo, Granny-Auntie Maho and Granny Alice.
Miho laughed. Her lover looked at her, both surprised and amused.
"Uh ?" she said with a smile.
"Nothing to worry about, I was just imagining how it would be like when we'll get old... we could tell our adventures to our grandchildren!"
"I'd be happy to adopt children with you", the brunette replied. "I would teach them how to be a good soldier as you'll teach them tankery. Obviously, we would work together!"
"I can't help but imagine how funny it would be", laughed Miho. "We'd be two moms..."
"Little family", said Kinuyo. "Atypical, but still a family. We could even associate our schools It'd be no more Oarai and Chihatan, but Ohatan, Chiharai, or just Oarai-Chihatan. We'd always be allied in battle, even friendly ones!"
"Well, one day our Dogmeat won't be here anymore, but he will stay into our memory", Miho replied. "We'll tell the best moments with him..."
They continued to walk. They were heading north, still trying to avoid the Niigata zone. Its prefecture was one of the largest ones in Honshu: if they passed in it, they weren't necessarily going into the most irradiated area. But they would be more careful. The closer they were getting to Niigata, the more dangerous it was getting. They weren't going to go there, it wasn't on their way, but they would certainly find themselves near the hazardous zone. The worst would be Kitakyushu. Even if it meant taking a longer time to arrive in Kumamoto, they would avoid it as much as they could. But there was probably there about the same dose as where her journey began: the distance between Kitakyushu and Kumamoto was roughly the same that was between Tokyo and Oarai. The radiation would be at an acceptable level: by cons, they had to find a way to purify water so they wouldn't poison themselves. But maybe the radiation, with time, would drop to non-toxic levels.
Kinuyo put her arm around Miho's shoulder while they were still walking. The redhead had found the person she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, even if they only had spent some days together. It just felt right. What she didn't imagine, though, is that this person would be the commander of Chihatan. She always thought it would be her mother who would find her a husband, or she would meet a man or a woman who was as rich as her family. But as far as she knew, she couldn't marry a woman, unfortunately. But her newly-found life partner was likely from middle class and she had found her on a stroke of luck. Life was strange. She never imagined, when she was little and she made up stories with Maho, that her fate would change drastically when three bombs would be dropped on the country. She never imagined that she would know the survival in the wild. She never imagined that one day she wouldn't be able to do tankery anymore. She never imagined that she would have such good and faithful friends and that she would leave them to find her family. She never imagined that she would find love at the same time and that her pet would be a simple stray mutt. But even if her life was full of surprises, she loved it, even if it was getting difficult...
The journey to Kumamoto would be the longest journey of her life. And yet, she hadn't even done the half of it. The map on her Pip-Boy showed her that there was still a huge part of road to do. She would follow roads and paths until she would get home. Walking from Oarai to Kumamoto was an experience that was certainly tiring, but allowed her to see new horizons. She hard a hard time believing she actually would go from the Pacific Coast to Sea of Japan coast. She had crossed the country in width already!
They came in an area that made them think that they would soon see the sea. The mountains were less and less close to each other. They were in a small valley. A river flowed there: it was the Hime river, a small stream. They were in Itoigawa: a coastal town! They accelerated their pace. The sea wasn't far away! The girls walked as much as possible, a bit faster than they did, to feel the smell of the sea air and hear the waves that came to die on the beach at least once again, not to mention the feeling of the sea spray on their skin. Everything was beautiful in the sea landscapes, the lights, the shapes... they missed them a lot.
And finally, when they had arrived near the coast, their happiness began to climb. Miho and Kinuyo had the reflex to hide their luggage and start running on the beach. Dogmeat happily followed them as they shouted in joy, stopping just above the water to admire its beauty. They started looking to find something to make a camp, not wanting in any case go into abandoned buildings. The tide wouldn't probably rise too much, but as a precaution, they went into the higher places while being near the sea. It was a sign that their trip was taking a turn. They would go on the coast as much as possible. There may be times when they would go back to the land, but most of the time, they would be walking on the beach. Dogmeat would enjoy himself more with the waves and seaweed, and maybe some seagulls.
A shiny object caught Miho's attention in a sort of terrier. It was a camera ; a Polaroid instant camera, even! But what was it doing there?
"Kinuyo! I found something, come here!"
"Oh, what is it?"
The brunette, seeing it, was impressed.
"A camera ? Great! We're going to keep memories of our trip! In addition, no need to develop the photos, they will be already here! I just hope there are some remaining..."
Miho opened the small thing.
"There are 8 or 9 photos remaining. Perfectly fine. Can we take one or two?"
"Yeah, of course!" Kinuyo said, enthusiastic.
They sat by the sea. Miho turned the camera. Her partner kissed her on the cheek when she took the photo, which came out almost instantly. The redhead girl shook the paper : she had just captured one of the best things in her life. She glanced at the dog.
"Dogmeat, come here buddy!"
He lifted his furry head and came. Miho took a second picture of them, but this time with their beloved dog. Two moments immortalized now.
"Teramoto would have been delighted", Kinuyo smiled. "She loved photography. Her favorite subjects were Ikeda and Nagura, though. She took pictures of me only once or twice... She had one of Hosomi and Tamada and another of Fukuda... Too bad I didn't ask her to have them before leaving. I never imagined that all of this would happen."
"Don't worry, they're photographed in your mind", Miho comforted her. "They will always be in your heart..."
"Yes", her girlfriend replied. "They're still here, somewhere... I wonder if their spirits hear us."
"Certainly", Miho said. "They watch over us..."
"Tell me", Kinuyo began, "how was your sister when you were little? In battle, she struck me as an extremely serious person."
"She was very nice, she loved to play with me", Miho told. "But she's still kind, even if she doesn't appear to be. It was her who got me out of this bad situation in which I was put with my family because I had my own way of doing tankery. She even encouraged me to continue in my own direction. Yet when she was with my mother, she remained impassive."
"I'm an only child on my side", the brunette replied. "My parents tried to conceive another child when I was little, but it resulted in a miscarriage. I wonder what it's like to have a brother or sister."
"Maho is a year older than me. When I was born, she was a little jealous, it's normal for children of this age... but soon, she greatly appreciated my presence and became my best playmate... and we also did a lot of silly things, as pouring the entire content of a bottle of shampoo in the tub before putting in all the towels and then filling the tub with water, and make the bathroom look like an Olympic pool. We were both punished, but we laughed so much this day."
Kinuyo giggled and looked at her with a tender grin.
"You must have been so cute as a child... Well, for my part, in terms of messing around... I was pretty good as a little girl, but once I got bored and I broke a door handle after pressing on it many, many times, like an idiot, and then I started to throw it around and I broke a window. When you are little, you're silly."
"Alice is like a little sister to me", muttered Miho. "That's how I feel about her. She's only 12, you know... I have a lot of trouble believing that she even skipped the junior years. She wanted to go to high school, I wonder if she could. University was already a huge thing for a little one of this age."
"I'd like to know her a little more", Kinuyo replied. "She seems shy, though... I hope I will not scare her away. You're much softer compared to me."
"Don't worry, she is very shy at first, then she gradually opens up. It needs a little time and she'll come to you. Perhaps she'll appreciate you from the very beginning. Don't be abrupt and let things happen, even if you're not the most patient one."
"I'll do", the brunette accepted. "And even if she doesn't like me, I will protect her as well as you."
Miho thought of little Alice, who was still so far away... When would she find her?
